The streets are alive in Dubai

DUBAI // Man-sized Jelly Babies, eagles, giraffes and even the Mad Hatter leapt out at visitors to The Walk at the weekend as part of the Dubai Canvas 3D art festival. Organised by Brand Dubai, the festival featured 60 pieces of three-dimensional art drawn on walls and pavements along the two kilometre-long walkway at Jumeirah […]

DUBAI // Man-sized Jelly Babies, eagles, giraffes and even the Mad Hatter leapt out at visitors to The Walk at the weekend as part of the Dubai Canvas 3D art festival.

Organised by Brand Dubai, the festival featured 60 pieces of three-dimensional art drawn on walls and pavements along the two kilometre-long walkway at Jumeirah Beach Residence.

Families lined up to pose while teetering on the edge of a broken pier with turtles swimming below them in an image created by Australian Rudy Kistler, while children squealed with excitement as they sat down next to pandas on floating swings suspended by a giant golden eagle in an image painted by Chinese artist Qi Xinghua.

The festival, which opened on Tuesday, attracted hundreds of visitors, included Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

A popular piece was American artist Kurt Wenner’s painting of a London Underground station, with Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter and Sherlock Holmes running down the stairs.

A wall mural of giraffes in a jungle scene painted by Planet Streetpainting, an artist collective founded by Dutchman Peter Westerink, also amassed a large crowd of impressed onlookers.

Unlike the floor paintings, which will be removed at the end of two-week festival, the wall murals will remain throughout the summer.

“The wonderful thing about this art is that, unlike pieces you might see in a museum, this is not complete until someone has interacted with it and taken a photograph,” said Juandres Vera, a member of Planet Streetpainting.

“The viewer is and should be part of the image itself, that’s why it is so important to show it in a public place.”

Dubai Media Office is running a competition for the most inventive images posted on social media labelled with the hashtag #dubaicanvas, with Dh20,000 up for grabs for first prize, Dh15,000 for second and Dh10,000 for third prize.

“It is such a beautiful festival and a brilliant idea,” said German tourist Sandra Grotelusethen, who is visiting Dubai for a month. “It would certainly make me want to come back.”